Saeed Jaffrey, (8 January 1929- 15th Nov 2015) was an actor who has appeared in numerous British and Indian movies. He was born in Malerkotla, Punjab. His film credits include The Man Who Would Be King (1975), Shatranj Ke Khiladi (The Chess Players) (1977), Gandhi (1982), A Passage to India (1965 BBC version and 1984 film), The Far Pavilions (1984), and My Beautiful Laundrette (1985). He has also appeared in many Bollywood films in the 1980s and 1990s. For television he has starred in Gangsters (1975–1978), The Jewel in the Crown (1984), Tandoori Nights (1985–1987) and Little Napoleons (1994). He also appeared as Ravi Desai on Coronation Street and in Minder as Mr. Mukerjee in Series 1 episode The Bengal Tiger.
Jaffrey attended Minto Circle, S.T High School, Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), Aligarh, before going on to Wynberg Allen School, St. George’s College, Mussoorie, and Allahabad University. He started his career by setting up a theater company called Unity Theatre, at New Delhi. His early theatrical work included roles in productions of Tennessee Williams, Christopher Fry, Wilde, and Shakespeare. He did his studies at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London and went to the United States on a Fulbright scholarship, where he took a second post-graduate degree in drama from The Catholic University of America. He also worked with actors including Sean Connery, Michael Caine, and Pierce Brosnan. He starred in popular cinema directed by Satyajit Ray, James Ivory, and Richard Attenborough. He was the first Indian to take Shakespearean plays on a tour to the United States.
He was also the first Asian to receive British and Canadian Academy Awards nominations, and also the first Indian to receive the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for his contributions to drama. He has also served as the Radio Director (1951–1956) for All India Radio and Director of Publicity and Advertising at the Government of IndiaTourist Office, U.S (1958–1960)
Courtesy: Wikipedia
Image Courtesy: Facebook, Twitter & Pinterest